The Final Lesson
by AJ Taylir
Summary: Myst III: Exile. The Stranger's quest for Releeshahn comes to its end. Spoilers for anyone who hasn't completed the game


(A/N: I wrote this back after I beat Myst III: Exile, Back when it came out. Man, how long has that been? Then stowed it away with my other writings. I don't own Exile, or Myst. I'm just an expressive fan. The only part I made completely up was the last 237 words. The rest is a monologue expansion of the Narayan encounter.)

I was full of anger as I scanned the last symbol into the book trap. Its frame opened like a flower bud as my blood surged.

Saavedro had gone too far. I was going to get Releeshahn back, at nearly any cost. What made it worse, this was a game to that madman. He had set up this whole scenario to get back at Atrus for something Sirrus and Achenar did. And here I was, trapped in these twisted lesson ages, trailing Saavedro and forced to go through the lessons that weren't even put here for me.

But I had done it. Amateria, Edanna, Voltaic, I thought I'd die of old age trying to solve my way through them, but I did it. And now only one age was between me and paying him back for everything he did to the D'ni, to Atrus, and to me.

I sported various scuffs and minor bruises from braving my surroundings. I looked quite a mess as I glared at the Narayan book.

I checked to make sure I had everything I needed: it wasn't much. Atrus' and Saavedro's journals, which had been my saving grace more than once, and the drawings I had made of the symbols. I knew they had to have another use, if I knew Atrus. He would be just the kind to create lessons that involve something important in more than one instance.

The pathway to the open book bud released. I took slow, slightly shaky steps.

This was it.

I had gone through every lesson of J'nanin to get here.

Saavedro was waiting for me, and I didn't know what to expect as I approached and opened the book. But that had never stopped me before. I took a deep breath, and firmly set my hand on the linking panel, accepting the tingling pull of the link.

I looked around.

If I wasn't so preoccupied with my goal, I might have really like my surroundings. It seemed like lithe roots were entwined around everything, and the metalwork and colored glass had a flowerlike beauty.

On one side of the room, tapestries were hanging on the wall, with symbols that resembled those from the lesson ages. The correlation baffled me until I remembered Saavedro's journal. He had said that he had helped Atrus organize the lesson ages.

On the other side of the room, there was an icy wall, a lever type switch and two spherical metal things. I flipped the switch from side to side, but nothing happened.

This room wasn't very big, and I saw some stairs. My curiosity got the better of me; even though I was in the same age, no, the same building, as a murderous, frantic man.

The upper level gave me a better view of everything there was to see, which wasn't a lot. The open space all around the towerlike structure was glassed over with the same substance as the icy wall downstairs. I could make out some blurry shapes through it, but I couldn't begin to guess what they were.

I froze as I heard a door rattling nearby. I looked and saw it as it opened, and _he_ walked out. In one hand, he had the book, in the other, a stone hammer. I was furious at him, but I didn't move. I wasn't stupid enough to attack him when he had a weapon.

He was discontent enough when he saw that I wasn't Atrus, and that Atrus wasn't with me. He fumed at himself for a few minutes.

I was of two minds, both hating and pitying him. He turned to me, and came close. Too close for my own comfort.

He told me there was no way out of Narayan now, and that we were stuck. After warning me that "the doors I open don't close behind me," he went back into the door.

After he left, I snarled and rushed at the door, shaking it. I knew it wouldn't open, and I was afraid that he would come out and attack me, but I shook it anyway.

This man was crazy, and driving me that way, too. It maddened me that all this was going on over one book. On my way back towards the stairs, I noticed a red switch. Coming out of my rage, I flipped it. I heard something, but nothing reacted right away. I went back down the stairs, my curiosity smothering my anger for the time being.

The only other switch of any kind was the one by the ice shield. Studying it and its surroundings, I got an idea. I pointed it to the metal sphere on my left, and then studied the sphere. With a simple nudge, it rose up. The power was certainly for this. I opened it, and saw what looked like intricate heating coils. But they were dark. I tapped one, and it lit with a cold, red glow. I tapped a few, again and again, turning the red on and off. I made a few simple curvy designs, but nothing hit me as a solution.

Then, I noticed one of my designs vaguely resembled one of the sketches from the ages. I jumped on this, reproducing one half of the sketch on one of the small circles of coils. But the three sections each had four coils, and the three sketches could only fill two of each. I looked up from it in frustration, and saw the tapestries. They were covered in symbols that could fill the coils. But which ones? I examined the tapestries and the words naming each mark. They didn't seem to be basic vocabulary or anything, just seemingly random words like 'civilization,' 'dependence,' and 'motion.'

Like a list of a culture system. Some of the words rang bells deep in my mind. Something Atrus told me about his grandmother, Anna. Her mantras he had mentioned in his journal about developing his new age.

Something clicked. This would be just the thing Atrus would use to teach his sons, Anna's ideals for functioning ages. I studied my sketches, and found 'future,' 'motion,' force,' 'change,' 'nature,' and 'encourage.' I scanned Atrus' journal for the mantras.

_Energy powers future motion_

_Nature encourages mutual dependence _

_Dynamic forces spur change_

_Atrus, my friend,_ I thought. I didn't dare to speak, lest I bring Saavedro here. _You're a genius. A complete genius._

I located the other symbols, and began to enter them, making frequent trips back to the tapestries to double-check them. Finally, I had all three entered. Two of them glowed bright white, but one didn't. Something must have been off. I checked it again, and found one mistake. I corrected it, and it glowed with its fellows.

The sphere closed, and the inner ice shield melted. I stood there for a moment, afraid that Saavedro would come. After he didn't arrive, I decided to go investigate.

A ship hung on a cable that would have gone into the open, had the outer shield been down. I saw some more stairs, and took them.

More tapestries. I didn't know what these were for. I suspected that they might have something to do with the second sphere. I turned around, and the next sight stunned me. Cradled on a vine-grown pedestal was my only chance of leaving this age: a linking book to Tomahna. I seized it, almost to the point of tears. Perhaps I had a chance to get through this alive.

Saavedro's warning weighed on me, though. He could easily follow me to Atrus, and who knows what he would do then? I kept the book, all the same. Whether he could follow me or not, a way out was a way out.

I went back to the linking chamber where I arrived, and switched the power to the second sphere. The inner ice shield froze again. The switch could open one door at a time, no more. The sphere had one set of four coils, instead of three. There was a fourth mantra to enter. Likely, the symbols were downstairs, if I could find the words. I went back to the journal, finding the last mantra:

_Balanced systems stimulate civilization_

I was struck by the mantras: they played an important part of the whole lesson. Voltaic was all about the energy mantra, Edanna, the nature mantra, Amateria, dynamic forces, leaving Narayan with the balanced systems. It all made a great deal of sense. Too bad that Atrus' sons were too greedy to see it.

I went downstairs and found the symbols for the mantra. Drilling them into memory so I wouldn't have to go up and down stairs repeatedly, I entered it. On my first try, (luckily) I got it right. The outer shield was gone, revealing podlike structures all linked by that ship line. It was strangely beautiful, but I didn't have time to be sentimental. I heard Saavedro coming down the stairs.

He stared in disbelief at the sight.

"They're alive?" he wondered. This was the first time I actually saw hope and joy on his face. It lightened my heart a little.

It was soon buried under his madness, as he tested the switch and figured out how it worked. "Once I'm on the dock, flip the switch to open the outer barrier. If you do this, I'll give you the Releeshahn book." He stepped out onto the dock. "Do it." he said firmly.

This was a tedious moment. One wrong move and it was over. If I made him angry, he would kill me, or, perhaps worse, drop the book. If I took too long, wearing on his short patience, he might do the same thing. If I went along with his plan, how would he get the book back to me with the inner barrier up? He would take it with him to Narayan, I just knew it.

I had a lot of planning to do, and little time to do it. Open one door, and he'd escape. Open the other and he'd kill me.

But what if I closed both doors?

It was a foolish but lucrative idea. If it went wrong... I decided not to dwell on the consequences.

I quietly stole upstairs to the red switch. It was betraying his trust, but it was an acceptable betrayal, considering what he had done. Watching him carefully, I turned the power off. The barrier rose on either side, trapping him safely on the dock. He couldn't get me, he couldn't escape to Narayan. He was right where I wanted him. I could hear his frenzied screams as he crumpled to his knees. Tormented by the sound, I forced myself to go back downstairs.

He saw me through the lattice wall, and cried.

"Please, don't do this to me. Don't leave me here." He begged. "I'll give you the Releeshahn book, just don't leave me here."

He handed me the book. My heart leaped as my goal was attained.

I forced an emotionless expression into my face as I watched him cry and as he handed me the book. I hated this man for what he had done to Atrus, and he probably didn't deserve to be set free after all of his frenzied evils.

But would Atrus leave him there? Could anyone truly deserve a punishment so cruel? So close to home, yet so far away?

I turned away to think, trying to block out his pitiful sobs.

I saw the door switch and got an idea. While the power was off, I was safe. I flipped the door switch so the power would channel to the outer shield. Saavedro would certainly come and kill me if I opened the inner one. Releeshahn in hand, I solemnly ascended the stairs and turned on the power. The outer barrier melted away, revealing the distant city to us both. Even from so far away, it was beautiful. No journal did it justice.

He stopped sobbing, and stared in wonder. He looked up at me, and silently signaled his thanks as he boarded the ship and sailed the tightrope course to his family. No words could have conveyed his gratitude. None were needed.

I felt peaceful inside. I had given a tormented man his life back, even though he had done so many terrible things in trying to get revenge. Atrus would have been proud of me. I had freed Saavedro from his mad prison just beyond his home, and retrieved Releeshahn.

My quest was over. I felt I had learned the fourth lesson: Balanced systems stimulate civilization. While Atrus' lesson for his sons had been the balance between the Lattice Tree and its inhabitants, the lesson I learned had been a balance of heart. Part of me would have left Saavedro there. But a decent civilization could never exist, if founded on cold-blooded hatred. I had shown a cruel man compassion, and had proven myself as a better person for it.

Tucking Releeshahn, the journals, and the symbol sketches safely under my arm, I opened the Tomahna book, set it on the floor, knelt beside it, and linked.

The air was welcoming as I arrived in Tomahna. I slightly regretted my grungy appearance, but I was lucky to be back. I got up from my kneeling position, and walked towards the door. Someone heard me, and came to the door from inside. Catherine opened the door wide, and saw me.

"Atrus come quick! Are you alright?" she asked me, coming out.

I was so excited to be back, and in one piece, that all I could manage was a smile and a nod.

Atrus came out, anxious. "Did you get Releeshahn back?" he asked, worried.

I smiled assuringly and held out the reason I had followed Saavedro in the first place.

Atrus took it gingerly in his hands. Catherine gave him the key, and he opened the book. His anxiety melted away into a look of relief.

"It's fine." He said gladly.

"I was happy to help." I said.

"You have to tell us everything." Catherine said. "It had to have been quite an adventure."

"Yes, too bad the linking book was lost, or we could have gone with you." Atrus added.

"I think it was better that I went alone, as difficult as it got. It was all a trap for you, Atrus." I said. "Though, I'll sort of miss the lesson ages."

"Ah, it really is a pity." Atrus said. "As the book is destroyed, it would be nearly impossible to make a duplicate."

I smiled in appreciation of the word 'nearly'.

"Yes, you have taught me that nothing is impossible. Someday, we may see the lesson ages again. As for now, would you mind letting me clean myself up a bit? I've had a rough trip."

"Of course. Catherine can help you there. I'll put the book away. Tomorrow, we'll go to Releeshahn." Atrus said.

Later, after I was cleaned up and my minute scrapes were treated, I settled down in the study with Atrus and Catherine. For the time being, I was holding baby Yeesha. I loved her almost as if she were my own daughter, since her parents and I were such good friends. I rocked her to sleep as I began my story.

"Well, you know what happened up until the fire, of course. He linked back, and I followed him. It took us both to J'nanin, and I chased him as far as the central tusk tower..."


End file.
